It’s a rap for Bieber

Having dedicated himself towards creating a bad boy persona, all the while churning out sappy teen pop, Bieber looks set to take his outlaw image into the studio.

This weekend, the ‘Baby’ singer changed his Instagram handle to ‘Bizzle’ – a laughable tip of the hat to rapper parlance.

That same Saturday night, Bieber was photographed in the studio with rap star and self proclaimed “King of the South” TI.

A few days previously, Bieber rubbed shoulders with some of the heavyweights in the hip hop genre, including Rick Ross, Diddy and Jermaine Dupri.

The group later headed to an Atlanta nightclub called Vanquish, where Bieber, shirtless as usual, was seen sipping on a suspiciously coloured water.

Despite being under the age limit for drinking in the US, Bieber is said to have developed a fondness for a drink glorified by rappers like Lil Wayne called “Lean” or “Sizzurp” – a cocktail of flavoured soda and cough mixture.

Bieber, who turns 20 this year, claims he will retire after his next album. How long he stays retired is anyone’s guess.

On Friday, the star told his Twitter followers that he is “always working, always creating”. - Tonight Reporter